~ Ravi Dhingra Photography

Home,sweet home?

She was on family way,she started building a nest. Every day she would come many times with something to add to the dream home she was making,it could be a straw,a small feather,a discarded thread or even hair. The process was laborious but she seemed quite enthusiastic,she was in a hurry. Her mate would visit her sometimes and together they would supervise the efforts.Our son Arnav was also very excited about it,finally he was hoping to get a pet which he always wanted. He started keeping a bowl of water and a bowl of grains for the bird.

This went on for quite some days,the nest was taking shape.She got used to my presence and didn’t mind my taking the photographs of her under-construction house which would become a home soon.

One day,the inevitable happened. A family of monkeys visited our house uninvited,the two young members were naughty ones.Besides stealing some food from the kitchen,they broke the branch from which the nest was hanging. They also broke the bowls of water and grains.The bird was nowhere to be seen or may be she was observing the destruction from a distance.

I found the broken branch with nest intact in the parking lot and brought it back. With a thread I tied it again at the same position. After some time the bird came back,she saw the nest,she came near it and observed very carefully. I thought that the happiness is back in her life,she can continue with building straw by straw. But after spending a few minutes she disappeared,never to be seen again. Though her mate still comes to look for her and the dream home she was building.